The word Kshama is
derived from the root by the addition of the suffix ang and tap.

The word Kshama
means patience, forbearance and pardon.

Kshama一词来源于tap之后加了后缀ang这个字根。Kshama一词意味着耐心，克制，宽容。

‘Kshama shatro ch mitre ch
yatinamev bhushanam’ – Hito

To pardon an enemy or a
friend both, is the jewel of Yetis.

宽恕朋友或敌人，是Yetis的宝贵之处。

‘Kshama virasey bhushanam’
-
Forbearance is the ornament of the brave.

克制是勇者的饰物。

An eminent English poet
writes:

有一首著名的英语诗歌写道：

O Man! forgive thy mortal
foe

哦，人们！宽恕你致命的敌人吧

Do not give him blow for
blow

不要为了打击而打击他

Forgive him seventy times
and seven

宽恕他七十又七次

For all the souls in
Heaven

因为天堂中所有的灵魂

Were both forgivers and
forgiven.

都是宽恕和被宽恕者。

Uttama Kshama is the first
Dharma out of the ten Dharma of Jains. Ordinarily it means not
to cause misery to any living being, or not to get angry on any unpleasant
and unwanted happening. Forbearance (Kshama) is the inherent virtue
of soul. When the soul degrades from its real attributes to ill nature,
such a soul is called attached (raagi) or full of malice - ill-will
(dwaish), etc., because soul is simple and forgiving by nature.
Rightly has it been said: ‘To err is human; to forgive divine’.

Anger makes a man blind
and maddens him, for ‘when eyes are blood shot, vision is limited’.
Overpowered by anger, a man may commit anything right or wrong, and fails
to make distinction between proper and improper, truth or untruth, and
good or bad. In short, the Jain Acharyas have proclaimed anger as
leading to degradation.

Discarding anger and
getting stable in one’s real nature, is Kshama, Kshama is
soul’s inherent wealth. Being endowed with this real wealth, this living
being (jeeva) is called forbearing in disposition. Narendra,
Devendra and Amrendra in this world (lok) and heaven (Parlok)
worship a living being crowned with forgiveness after salvation. In
Baras - Anupaikkha this very Kshama has been described as
below:

Not to develop malice or
ill-will despite confronting with unbearable causes of anger like
defiance, chiding and bodily torture is Uttama Kshama. It has been
well said; “The easiest and cheapest way of avenging an offence is to
slight it, ignore it, forbear it, ‘forgive it, or, if possible, to
forget it.”

To remain stable in
supreme equanimitous thoughts on getting threat of being killed by persons
given to evil perception (Mithya-Drasthi) for no reason,
considering oneself formless Parma Brahma is Uttama Kshama.
The following example reveals this very thing.

There was a saint named
Aek Nath. He had a vow of bathing in the Ganga daily. His ideology of
forgiveness and renunciation was highly talked of in the city. One
Pathan alsoused to live in that city. Once he thought to test the
saint. His house was on that very road by which the saint used to go for
bathing in the Ganga.
The next day when Aek Nath was returning after having a bath in the Ganga,
the Pathan chewing a betel leaf, spit down from above his rooftop. Its
shower fell on the body of Aek Nath also; hence the saint went back to
have a bath in the Ganga again. This process was repeated a hundred times
on that one day. Ultimately when the saint was returning after his one
hundred and one time bath, the Pathan came down from his house top
and falling down at his feet, started weeping and begging pardon, for his
mischief and ill-doing. The saint said, “I am grateful to you for your
good deed, because daily I used to bathe in the Ganga only once, but today I am
lucky to bathe a hundred and one times due to you.” Great men have great
thoughts. They never give up their celestial virtues. Saint Aek Nath, who
belonged to this noble category, took this ill deed of the Pathan
as a virtuous deed and pardoned him. On this earth there is no other
greater virtue than Kshama. One, who is crowned with all the
virtues, Kshama has been stated the embodiment of ascetics (Tapasvi);
such as –

The emblem of a
nightingale is her own melody; the emblem of a lady is her chastity, the
emblem of the wretched is their ignorance and the emblem of ascetics is
forgiveness. The following memorable words are worth noting: “Humanity is
never more beautiful than when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving
another.”

Noble persons think thus:
“Though I have committed no crime against him, even then this man is
showering his anger over me, abusing me; I am innocent. Considering this I
must pardon him. He has accused me, yet no harm comes out of it to me. On
the contrary I must take pity on him, in spite of his being angry; because
this poor fellow is reaping sins by falsely accusing me. This sin will
bring him innumerable sufferings. He has only abused me and not beaten.
Even if he had beaten me, then it must be thought that he has not wounded
me; on being wounded it must be thought that he has not parted body from
life; even if he had parted body, then one must understand that he has not
harmed my Kshama virtue. One who thinks in this or bears the
miseries befallen on him with forbearance (Kshama), no troubles and
misfortunes will visit him again. ‘Just as at the time of repaying debts
one has to return the money of the money lender; similarly I had committed
sins in my previous birth and now I am reaping their fruits in the form of
sorrow, which is proper. If I suffer it with a spirit of forbearance, I
shall become happy on getting rid of the debt of my sins.’ Thinking this
no anger should be displayed.

A being gifted with
forbearance (Kshama) never feels the prick of sorrow. Abuse him, as
much as you can, have ill will against him as much as you like, even then
he does not give up his Kshama virtue. In this respect the
following remark of a great scholar is noteworthy: “If you are wronged, be
bravely revenged. Slight it, and the work is begun; forgive it and it is
finished. He is below himself who is not above injury.”

Once it so happened that
when saint Tuka Ram had distributed all his belongings amongst the poor,
one day the state of starvation arose in his home. His wife said, “What
are you doing sitting idle here? Go and fetch a bundle of sugarcanes from
the fields. We shall be able to pass the day anyhow by sucking them.
Consequently, when Tuka Ram set out for home with a bundle of sugarcanes
from the field; on the way beggars enveloped him and begged for
sugarcanes. ” Tuka Ram gave one sugarcane each to every beggar. When he
reached home, only one sugarcane was left with him. Seeing one sugarcane
the hungry wife was enraged. She snatched the sugarcane from Tuka Ram’s
hands and started beating him with it. As a result, the sugarcane broke
down into two equal parts. Now her anger subsided. In spite of getting
beatings from his wife, the calm and forgiving Tuka Ram spoke with a
smile. “What a good wife! You have divided the sugarcane in two equal
pieces. You suck one and I will suck the other.”

Seeing the infinite ocean
of forgiveness and love in the midst of furiously raging fire of anger,
tears rolled down from the eyes of the lady. Tuka Ram wiped off her tears
with the fold of his turban, fed her whole of the sugarcane after peeling
it. Howsoever cruel and angry a being may be, he becomes calm in the
presence of a forgiver. Jain Acharyas have termed anger as the
greatest enemy of human beings. If this enemy (anger) takes possession of
a living being, it ruins all his virtues. It has been rightly said:

Anger concealed in the
body of a man becomes the cause of his own ruin, just as fire hidden in
wood destroys itself. Likewise anger on getting enraged kills the angered
one. In this universe there is no such devil as will devour his mother.
But this devil anger first eats up that very heart which breeds it as a
mother and later on it eats up others as well. On suppressing anger and
enriching the soul through religion in the garb of Kshama is to
ensure the path of Moksha i.e., salvation. It must be the goal of
every living being. It alone is blissful.

The heating effect of the
fire of anger ruins penance. It becomes the cause of a man’s
self-destruction, as that of Muni Depayan.

怒火的热效应摧毁了修行。它成为了一个人自我毁灭的原因，就像Muni
Depayan。

In Soratha land there is a
famous city named Dwarka, which had been rendered highly sacred by the
birth of His Holiness Lord Nemi Nath, worshipped in all the three worlds.
The rulers of that city were the ninth Narayana, Shri Krishna, and
Balbhadra - sons of Vasudeva and cousins of Neminatha. One day Narayana
and Balbhadra visited the religious conference (Samavsharan) of
Lord Nemi Nath to pay their homage to the Lord. They were overwhelmed at
heart on seeing the Lord. Their voice was exalted. Their whole body was
thrilled, tears of joy burst out of their eyes. They paid due homage at
the lotus feet of the Lord with great reverence and listened to His holy
sermon sitting in the enclosure assigned to human beings. Balbhadra asked
the Lord, “O Lord! How long will this Dwarka City founded under the holy
guidance of Vasudeva and its wealth exist?”

The Lord replied, “After
twelve years Dwarka will be burnt to ashes. Intoxicated by drinking the
Yaduvanshis will cause terrible calamity to Depayan Muni; as a
result, on getting enraged Depayan Muni will become the cause for the
destruction of Dwarka.” On hearing this prediction from the holy mouth of
the world teacher (Jagat Guru), Balbhadra came to Dwarka and got
all the wine pots thrown in the forest of the Girnar Mountain. Depayan
also went away to some other place leaving Dwarka. But who can shut out
fate? Despite making numerous efforts, the words of Lord Jinendra
cannot be proved wrong or falsified. A little time prior to the completion
of twelve years Depayan Muni had the misconception that twelve years had
lapsed. Therefore, he returned to Dwarka and sat down in meditation near
the Girnar Mountain. At that very time, the Yaduvanshi Princes were
returning after merry-making in the Girnar Mountain. Due to scorching
summer heat, rendered restless with thirst they started searching for
water all around. Meanwhile, they glanced water of the rainy season
collected in a pond. Seeing this, the thirsty Princes began to drink the
pond water. After some time they got intoxicated and started running and
frisking to and fro. for the water in the pond was mixed with wine thrown
by Balbhadra. While they were strolling they caught sight of the
meditating Muni. Seeing him their anger knew no bounds for any reason, as
if butter had been poured into fire. They started talking among
themselves, “Oh! He is that very Depayan due to whom Dwarka will be burnt
to ashes one day. He is a devil.” Saying this, they started hurling stones
on him. Taking it a calamity befallen on him, the holy saint sat
unperturbed in a calm posture. Later on when the royal princes started
causing still greater torture, the holy saint lost his temper. Sparks of
anger started emitting from his eyes. When Balbhadra got this information,
he at once rushed to Depayan Muni and apologized. But the anger of the
Muni could not be subsided. Overpowered by unbearable anger, the Muni died
with a malicious feeling and was reborn as Vayanter Deva as a result his
penance. Recollecting this incident of his previous birth through
ill-begotten knowledge (Ku-vadhi Gyan), he put Dwarka city aflame
out of anger and due to fierce flames Dwarka city was burnt to ashes.

From the above example it
is established that the person who indulges in anger destroys himself and
others as well. Therefore, it is wise to keep away from anger or shun
anger. Anger instigates bitterness, shatters friendship, disfigures our
composure, converts wisdom into folly and destroys fame and glory. This
anger is a mental excitement. As soon as one gets excited, one becomes
bereft of right thoughts due to which the power of reasoning and thinking
is lost. Therefore, to live as a human being, it is essential for a man to
be forbearing. No enemy can win over the man who is armed with the weapon
offorbearance. If someone inflicts pain to a person practicing
forbearance, in the end he suffers defeat.

A wealthy person named
Daya Chand used to live in Ujjain City. He was forbearing, benevolent and
a very light hearted man. His wife was named Akshama, but she was Akshama
by name only. There was not even a bit of forbearance (Kshama)
in her heart. In truth, she was a highly callous and ill-tempered lady.
Right from dawn to dusk it was her inevitable routine to quarrel with
every member of her family. She used to speak ill of her parent-in-laws in
presence of her husband Daya Chand, and would say, “I will not live with
your mother as she abuses and insults me.” Addressing her the learned and
well bread Daya Chand said, “My parents are your parents as well; serving
them is your uppermost duty. The anger of elderly persons subsides on
remaining humble. All become subordinate to a humble person. Everyone can
be overpowered through forbearance (Kshama) and politeness.
Therefore, be forgiving and justify your name Akshama.” On hearing
these words of advice from her husband, the fire of anger of Akshma
got all the more inflamed. She started hurling filthy abuses on her
husband too. But the forgiving Seth did not utter a single word. At
mid-day when Seth Daya Chand came home for meals, his wife started
murmuring in anger. Daya Chand took meals calmly and then set out for his
shop. As soon as he came down from his house and began to walk on the
road, the wife Sethani threw garbage over him from above. Going
upstairs, the Seth said to his wife with usual smile, “Oh, dear!
Daily you simply thundered but today you have rained as well.” Seeing the
calm and quiet nature of her husband, her anger vanished and lying down at
his feet she apologized for her fault. This example shows that an angry
person can be made calm, polite and full of reverence only by the weapon
of forgiveness (Kshama). Therefore, one is duty bound, to try to
befriend an angry man or an enemy with love rather than being angryon him.

Kamatha and Marabhuti both
were brothers. One day Kamatha had sexual intercourse with Marubhuti’s
wife in his absence. As a result the king exiled Kamatha from his Kingdom.
Kamatha reached the hermitage of a sinful ascetic and started performing
vicious penance. When Marbhuti, out of love for his brother, went to bring
Kamatha back, the wretched fellow hurled a stone slab on his brother
Marubhuti; consequently he died then and there and was reborn as an
elephant. In the long run the elephant observed Anuvratas under the
influence of the preachments of a religious teacher. Meanwhile, the spirit
of Kamatha after death was reborn as a dragon and bit the elephant out of
ill will of his previous birth. Likewise, up to ten births Kamatha’s
spirit suffered the many-fold miseries of hell (nark) by nourishing
uncalled for enmity with Marubhuti and by bringing tortures on him; but
the spirit (Jeeva) of Marubhuti went on forgiving the spirit of
Kamatha. Therefore, due to his forgiveness (Kshama) he was blessed
to become Lord Parashvnath. In the end the spirit (Jeeva) of
Kamatha came to the holy feet of Lord Parashvnath and asked for his
forgiveness shedding all his bitterness and ill will towards him.

While describing the
virtue of supreme forgiveness, the great poet Reidhu writes:

当描述至上的宽恕这一美德时，伟大诗人Reidhu写道：

Utam karam tili yeh sari,
utam kham jammi dahitari

Utam karam ryantriya-dhari,
utam kham dugayi duh hari

Utam karam gun sehyari, utam khand munhivind payari

Utam karam bahuyan
chintamani, utam khand sampjan thir mani

Utam karam mhnij syal
janri, utam khand michhat tamo manri

Jahim asmtham dosu
khamijayi, jahim asamathahm rn u rusijayi

Jahim akosanr vayanr
sahijayi, jahim par dos nrjanri bhasijyi

Jahim cheyanrgunr
chitdharijayi, tahim uttamkaram jjinekehjeyi

Iye utam karam juy nrr sur
karag nruy kevalnranru lehvithuru

Huye siddnrirnjnru bhavduh
bhajnru aganriyrisi pundgavjchiru

1. Supreme forgiveness is
pertinent in all the three worlds. It helps to sail across the ocean of
birth and death; it enables us to be endowed with the three jewels i.e.,
Right Belief, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct and safeguards us from a
miserable plight.

2. Supreme forgiveness
contributes to horde of virtues; it is dear to the nude Jain monks.
Supreme forgiveness is like the crown jewel (Chintamani) for the
learned scholars. Only persons with stable minds can acquire the virtue of
supreme forgiveness.

3. Supreme forgiveness is
held in high veneration by all great men. Forgiveness works like a
dazzling jewel to dispel the darkness of wrong belief. The faults of the
helpless persons are pardoned by a forgiver and he does not get enraged
with them. Freedom from the growth of evil passions in the mind is
forgiveness.

4. The persons, who
without finding fault with others bear patiently the harsh words of the
rogues, accepting them as the outcome of the evil actions of their
previous births. They experience their own celestial virtues and are
deeply engrossed in their self－realization
have been termed by Lord Jinendra as gifted with supreme forgiveness.

5. Thus the persons gifted
with supreme forgiveness, worshipped by Gods (Devas) and
Vidyadharas (Divine beings skilled in various arts and sciences); and
the innumerable holy saints who vanquish all worldly miseries on attaining
the eternal omniscience and getting rid of the blemishes of karma
have become enlightened souls (Siddha). I bow with reverence a
thousand times at the holy feet of those supreme saints who are gifted
with the virtue of forgiveness.